WE, THE SINDHIS

We Sindhis hail from Sindh - a province, now in Pakistan , but
previously a part of undivided India. It was in Sindh that flourished the great
Indus valley civilization, a marvel in social set-up andcommunal living, millenniabefore
the birth of Christ. It wasSindhthat was famous for ship-building, and that it carried on commerce withfar-off lands such as Rome, Greece, Asia Minor, Babylon and Egypt.The Sumerians derived their culture from Sindh and it was on this
soil that Gautam Budha and Guru Nanak preached their doctrine.

India stands for the land of the Indus(river that flowed through Sindh) and the word Hindu is derived fromthe word Sindhu. Sindh dates back to the reign of Bharat, the
brother of Ram, who ruled in Sindh and then handed over the reigns to Luv, the
twin son of Ram and Mother Sita.

Sindhi Hindus faced centuries of trials and tribulations for
they were conquered by invaders who not only conquered their land but remained
to rule with a barbaric hand. All the rulers that came to rule over Sindh
had one thing in common. They sought to spread Islam converting Hindus at the
point of sword. Most were forced to abandon Hinduism and accept the shift in
religion to save their lives and those of their dear ones held captive. The
ancestors of Indian Muslims of today were those Hindus who were converted.
History is full of stories of Aurangzeb, the Moghul emperor who forcibly
converted Hindus to Islam. Many of these Hindus reached the shores of Sindh to
only continue to be persecuted by Taalpurs, Kalhoras and Mirs.

A common saying in Sindh stated:

Aayaa meer, Bhaga peer

Which literally meansthat when the Meer (rulers) came, the wise ones fled.

To safe guard the women folk from the
onslaught of the persecutors, they were made to observe Purdah, i.e. the women
were covered from head to toe, except for one eye. This mode of attire, the
Sindhis called “Akhri”

It was the British rule that brought to
an end the relationship of the oppressor Muslim and the oppressed Hindu. A new
era began. British rule brought safety, progress and reforms, not only to the
Sindhi Hindus in general, but for Sindhi Hindu women in particular. She was no
longer confined to the four walls and her formal education commenced.

The Sindhi-Hindu had arrived. The Amil
Sindhi excelled in services and the Bhaibunds in commerce. Both reached foreign
lands. The Amils generally to pursue a higher education and the Bhaibunds to
spread their business.

After roughly a century of peace
and progress came the Freedom Movement in which participated all Hindu Sindhis,
actively or passively little imagining that the so called Freedom wouldmean sacrificing their culture, home and birthplace.

The British administration that had
favored the Sindhi Hindu, stopped patronizing them as it was they, who had
initiated for self-government in Sindh as part of an all India Freedom Movement.

Instead of helping, the British started
to ignore the atrocities that the Muslim started to once again inflict upon the
Hindus. These tyrannical incidents reached a zenith during the partition of
India. Their leaders had failed them. On January 6, 1948, Genocide of Hindus
took place in Sindh. Though, in many cases helped by Muslim neighbors, the
terror in their heart is indescribable. The trials that each and every Hindu
went through in those dark bleak days would fill volumes and make even the gods
weep. The Sindhi Hindus had only
one option left. They had to flee and they found shelter wherever available in
Hindustan.

They started once again from sub-human
conditions. In many cases they had nothing left but their intelligence and
pride.It is believed that at that
time there were more refugees in India than there were Palestinians under
Israeli occupation. Sindhis became an uprooted race. Yet they managed to build,
brick by brick their new life and once again learned to live with honor and
human dignity.

Because
of their need to survive, they spread their wings through the length and breadth
of the globe. They set new roots in the landthat showed promise for a new and probably bright future. They imbibed
the customs, mannerisms and language of their new domicile in return for the
love and security that their new abode promised and provided.

I
am proud of the fact that Sindhis, due to their perseverance and hard-work,
survived. They succeededby
accommodating themselves to the way of life and customs of those who welcomed
them. But in life, just as joy comes with sorrow, death comes with life andtears come with laughter; the triumphant Sindhis lost touch with their
own culture, religion and language. As time passed by,it became increasingly difficult for International Sindhis to cling to
their roots.

It has been observed that it is became
increasingly difficult for the newer generation to speak the Sindhi language.

Perhaps the parents are partly to
blame, or maybe Providence willed it so. Possibly humanity needs to unite under
one language, one religion, one banner. Maybe we have to break the narrow walls
of constriction.

The latter may be true, but that
should not stop us from being grateful to our ancestors for the seeds of wisdom
that they sowed in our subconscious psyche.

Thankfully there is a renewed
interest amongst our youngsters in the Sindhi Language and culture.

It is said that that
what is painful to remember, we simply don’t forget. This pain kept
‘us’… the past generation remembering…and we do not want the children of
the future to forget.

Shakun
Narain

Feedback From :

Javed Odho

Dear Shakun,

Hope u are in perfect health and spirits as u always advocate and preach. I'll
take a few minutes of your time only. Few months back i subscribed to your webpage
accidentally while I was searching for info about my tribal origins. since then
I've been getting your messages from time to time. and I've time and again received many beneficial tips and suggestions
from u -for that I shall always remain thankful to u. But sometimes the messages
I've received make me ponder if it is the one sent by a preacher of love and peace as claimed.
Please don't take me as a fanatic, critic or a hate-monger. Myself, I am just an ordinary
Sindhi Muslim with only a little knowledge of history and religions. and I am as much proud of my
Sindhi origins as I am of my religious inclinations. since u seem to be a devout and interested scholar of
religious and historical studies, I am in no position to argue against or contradict your many
well-researched or strongly-believed postulates and pre-set notions. These words that
I feel obliged to jot down are to provide u an opportunity to know about the mind set of an ordinary
Muslim Sindhi who is confronted with questions like why and how we got converted and whether partition was ok or
not. Please I urge u that it may not be seen as an attempt to try to change your opinion, but it is a honest try to explain
mine. Also, I would like to add that those like you and your parents who migrated from their homelands
after partition have every right to feel on more personal and intimate way unlike me who did not lose
much except a feeling of nostalgia and sometimes real pain in losing a part of our beloved
Sindh, in the partition's wake. If I am not sounding a little patronising, I wish to add that such pain and
bitterness seem easy to justify as I have seen among many of my friend's, specially among their parents,
who have migrated from India under the similar conditions. therefore, I've tended to take lightly,
if not completely overlooked, some of the generalisations made in your remarks as in articles
'we sindhis'. After all we are all humans.

Sorry, before I explain that, bear me with my interpretation of the root cause of all problems
including ours as it also suggests its solution too.

It is a basic human nature to propagate and
take pride in its individuality of thought, origins, physical appearance, culture, history, etc.
That is how we get different ethnicities, languages, religions. It also leads us to new innovations and
inventions. And these sources of individuality could be material as well as non-material or perceived.
This pride in individuality goes against the nature as well as society only when these differences are
promoted negatively in order to subdue, harass or intimidate or harm those not possessing those traits.
I think that is what happened at the time of partition between two dominant communities of
India- Hindus and Muslims and it culminated in total alienation of both which continues to some extent to this day.

I've seen that the source of most of problems among us- in this subcontinent revolves round our
historical baggage of the distant past- rule of Muslims, emergence of Indian Muslims
in India , as well as more recent partition days. Our opinion and perception about each other how faulty or without much
proof these may be, are mainly shaped by these periods. The division of Indian
subcontinent, howsoever we may dislike it or label it unnatural, was left as the only viable option then. this was due
partly to the failure of leadership of people of both major communities, egoism and egotism on both sides,
some material & some perceived differences- both reconcilable as well as irreconcilable- in the points
of views of both major sides. Obviously 'created-differences' played their part
too, but in that persistent air of great mistrust, suspicion and fear, partition was the only feasible option despite
great human cost and material loss attached to it. You may disagree with me and u may present some ingenious
plan to salvage the situation then. but remember nobody came up with the plan despite all hectic
efforts by some very intelligent and forward looking minds present then. Not many people on both sides were
in favour of a radical partition plan initially. It was only due to continuously deteriorating conditions
with no solution in site that such partition was grudgingly accepted by both sides.
And and you must not forget that this option of partition was already exercised and has since then been exercised from time
to time, in the places like Europe, Arabia, south-east Asia, Africa among people and places with equal or
even greater similarities than you can ever find in very diverse Indian subcontinent. if such things are
never bound to happen, how can u explain the fall of British empire, specifically partition or independence
of its English-speaking/cultural colonies of U.S.A., Canada, Australia, New
Zealand etc.? or conflicting aspirations of Irish people with different religious backgrounds
found in the so-called enlightened European continent's northern Ireland corner? or differences
among and their preferences to stay independent among many small or big Arab countries, likewise sharing a
common heritage or culture or ethnic background or religion? Or more recently among
Slav people of former Yugoslavia to have their own way? Believe me, as I am
in Balkan these days, their differences in culture and languages are trifle if u compare those with ours in
great Indian landmass. Even when u look inside India today, if a Sikh becomes totally alien to the concept
of the Indian union sometimes or a major north-south divide or a high-caste-low
caste divide exists in India as elsewhere in the world may be in different
forms. My friend it can be traced back to one ultimate common motivation or human urge- to be different and maintain
their individuality. when someone thinks that his right or even the self-created individuality is in
danger he fights back. This all can be avoided or more practically minimized only if points of differences
with others are not looked down upon but always appreciated from their point of view.
Only then we can be in a position not to annoy or antagonise those sharing many other things in common with us. it is not
an easy task but it should be discussed and practiced like an art. no wonder many old prophets and sages
told us not to indulge in unnecessary talk as u might end up annoying or hurting some other human being.
In my opinion, we could have avoided the partition of India in this way only if we had talked and listened
to each other then instead of calling each other foreigners, wicked bannias, cow-eating maleech or
back-stabbing conspirators. So my brother, I just want to tell u that I feel hurt when
I see a very educated and enlightened person like you, may be unintentionally, hurting another fellow being again
and on the same lines. it hurts more when in such case both persons/parties share some common heritage.
They say that the most vicious fight is the one fought within the family members. if the common heritage and
culture is that of liberal and love-adoring Sindh who gave refuge to all from pre-historic times, as u
yourself explained, such statements made by anyone tend to become clichés and oxymorons altogether.
Hope I am not being too insolvent or rude.

Yes I am proud to be from the line of one of the oldest Rajput families of
Sindh. but I am also equally proud to be a Muslim by faith. and I totally reject
the assertion that my ancestors became Muslims accidentally under the duress or due to some lame
reasons. Of course such cases can not be ruled out altogether in any society with a
conqueror and conquered debate still very ripe but u can not change the belief system of an
entire community for very long and that comprehensively that way. this becomes even
more difficult to believe when you see the rise of the same indigenous community to power after a little
while. Immediately after Arab rule when sumeras or sammas of sindh came to power, it would have been very
easy and even expedient to revert back to the religion of their ancestors if it were imposed under duress.
After all Arab caliph was very far in Baghdad and Muslims were in a small numbers in
Sindh or elsewhere in India at that time; and central Asian Muslim rulers had no forceful permanent presence as yet. may be we
should not blame such harsh judgements about Indian/Pakistan Muslims as they are themselves judged
more on the basis of actions and strategies of those medieval kings and conquerors
like Mahmud Ghaznavi, Mohammad Ghuri, Aurangzeb etc and in present times on the basis of stereotype images of very secular leaders
of partition like Jinnah and his colleagues. when we do it we tend to forget that those kings or rulers or
leaders were, may be very fine battle-field strategists, fighters and men of immense energies, but
only that and never always the models of Islam as a religion. if there were any model
Muslims in those days, these were sufi's like Qalander, Shah Latif, Sachal, Data
Ganj Bux, Nizamuddin Aulia, etc. and people flocked to them and put their faith in their
teachings not because of fear or greed but because of their message and spiritualism.
We may disagree on this my friend as the faith is an intangible thing hard to prove but it also help u channelise your
hidden inner energies and faculties. Had it been the sword of an emperor or ruler to make us convert to
Islam, believe me most of Indian people would have been Muslims by now. after all they were the rulers
for so many centuries. Also, at least a big majority of people in UP and adjoining areas would have been
Muslims as it has mainly been the supreme seat of their governance and power. on the contrary, only a
small minority of Muslims- though always privileged due to close proximity to the
Muslim seat of power- live there. All I want to say is that most of us- rather our ancestors- converted on the basis of making
a conscious choice of faith and many others did not do so. other factors might have nurtured this faith at
one time or the other. Like Ashoka the Great's conversion to Buddhism helped that religion in
India, etc. also, some instances of forced conversions can not be ruled out by some over-zealous persons in power
as in case of one incident at a talpur-court. Please don't equate Islam with the acts of one or more
individuals- it says clearly in quran that "there is no compulsion in the
religion (islam -to follow it)". If taleban destroy Buddha's statues- without getting into
its political reasons- it is not Islam that we believe in. strangely enough, in Balkans
many Serbs use the same logic to explain and criticise why most Slavs in Bosnia converted to
Islam or most Albanians did the same under Turks without explaining why the bulk of
Slavs in Serbia, Croatia and many Albanians, and Greeks did not do so though they remained under the
same Turk rule for almost the same period of time. On the contrary, these events are very much unlike the
mass murder and exodus of Muslims and Jews in Spain after the fall of Muslim Spain
of 600 hundred years old. Today u can't find a single original Muslim or Jew there after what happened to them in the name of
religion-the inquisition. but we must not forget that the acts of king Ferdinand
and church leaders then, although carried out in the name of Christianity had nothing in common with teachings of
Christianity. Likewise, in India it was simply a power struggle which had resulted in equal if not greater number of
muslim-against-muslim battles / killings similar to many other muslim-against-hindu battles. if force had
prevailed in such matters Aurangzeb would have made most of Deccan and Rajasthan as muslim-majority areas,
or equally Akbar the great would have made a big chunk of Indian populace as the follower of his self-created
din-e-illahi.

We need to get out of this nightmare of yester years in order to think more positively and clearly. after
all each partition leads to a new union. may be we are now better placed to forge together a new union of
some sorts ultimately based on the same European model that they are experimenting with these days. while we
head in that direction, let us hold our emotions and listen to each other's point of view. may we succeed
in creating a better and more tolerant future for us all.

MY REPLY:

Dear Javed,

You wrote:

' ... we need to get out of this nightmare of
yester years in order to think more positively and clearly. after all each partition
leads to a new union. may be we are now better placed to forge together a new union of
some sorts ultimately based on the same European model that they are experimenting with these days. while we
head in that direction, let us hold our emotions and listen to each other's point of view. may we succeed in creating a better and more tolerant future for us'

Your last paragraph is the bottom line 'sou baaton ki ek baat'.
I also honor your point of view. Do I have your permission to put up your letter on my web-site under 'Readers Respond' so that 'we can listen to your point of view'

When I put up your letter on my web-site, I shall put up mine unedited.
I would like to clarify however that when I wrote
the last line in my article,
my intention had been to make my readers 'not forget their culture and language'.
But I realise that it can be misunderstood!

Sincerely, Shakun

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